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Info Absolution (Summary - List of stories) . The Wounded Hawk << previous act | Act 3 of 4 | next act >> The Joker In The Deck << previous chapter |''' Chapter 20 of 39 | next chapter >> << previous scene | '''Scene 1 of 2 | next scene >> Summary * Location: *Participants: *Time: *Summary: Text Cancer shivered slowly where he laid, concealed in a dip in the snowy fields outside the Strange One encampment, breathing heavily, eyes burning with need and want and desire. He watched as the group of ponies made their way slowly across the field some thirty feet away, nervously looking back at the cliff side as the creatures they had consulted with calmly and quickly returned to their homes with all the silence of spirits fading back into their crypts... and the monster almost moaned in his throat, slavering as he whimpered: "Oh why can't I have my cake and eat it too? Oh, why are you so cruel sweet-honey-child, why are you so cruel to me?" He snarled up at the gray skies overhead: the temperature had dropped a little, and the clouds had darkened, but there hadn't been any storm, hadn't been even a single drop of rain. And oh he was hungry... he was utterly starving, as a matter of fact, and he could feel his need to destroy, destroy, destroy rising higher and higher inside of his body... "But chief, we gotta wait... just... just gotta wait just a little while, ooh..." His eyes followed the trail of the young ponies longingly, before he whispered: "Look at them, though, carryin' all that stuff like they're big boys gettin' milk from the store for Mommy all by themselves... but ooh, we got a surprise for them, right?" Cancer licked his teeth slowly, rasping hard in as he trembled, the gargled and convulsed for a moment before clawing into the snow, burying his face in the powder as he gave a low, whispery scream. "No! N-Not yet... oh, look, honey, honey, I know the buffet is right there, sweetie-pie delight, and we're gonna help ourselves.. oh, oh, oh yes we're gonna have ourselves the munchies... but we gotta wait, don't you get it? Work with me, I and you! And if everything goes according to plan, those kids are gonna stop for the night again, right? So we're gonna wait, just a one-two-three-ten-thirty-sixty minutes... and then when those stupid unsuspecting brats are nice and far away..." Cancer slowly looked up, licking his teeth as his red, insectile eyes stared hungrily towards the abandoned-looking mountainside... but oh, the smells he smelled, the sounds he heard... "Dinnertime." The monster grinned slowly... then shivered as it turned its head in the direction of the young ponies, adding in a murmur: "And no, no, oh no no no... we ain't forgetting about those half-dozen cooked turkeys, just waiting to be gobbled down. And we're gonna eat every last one of 'em, we're gonna suck the creamy marrow from their bones and drink down their very goddamn spirit... but not just yet, oh no. We gotta get ourselves some nutritious and delicious brekky first before we go lickin' lollipops for dessert, and have ourselves the sweet coke cake of... r... r..." The monster gargled, then its eyes glowed bright red as its head twisted violently to the side, rasping: "Revenge... we will have our revenge... we will skin the child while he lives and melt his living flesh from his bones, feast upon his organs, kill, absorb, infect, evolve... we shall evolve to destroy..." The monster trembled, then slumped, body rippling, losing its physical coherence as bones jutted cruelly and wildly up from it, a limb transformed into a melted mess of a tentacle, teeth grew too large in its jaw as it moaned... and then in a flash, the transformations reversed themselves as the goblinoid monster curled up in the fetal position in the dip in the fields, whispering: "Hold on just a little longer, sweet cheeks, then I'll let you out to play and oh, oh, oh we'll have so much fun doing ring around the rosey with our pockets full of ashes, hush now, hush now, the poisoned posey brings the foals... all falling down..." Cancer grinned widely, shivering once where he lay in the snow, breathing hard in and out as his amorphous form rippled and distorted before he straightened a bit and whispered: "Yes... yes... we're almost there... we just gotta wait... we just gotta take our slow, slow time, and wait for the kiddies to go so far away they won't hear a thing... and then, then we get our strength back..." The monster breathed harder in and out, eyes slowly raising to stare up at the gray skies overhead, delighting in its find even as it bemoaned being forced to wait again to take his revenge on the foals. He occupied himself for more than an hour thinking about all the things he was going to do to the young ponies, all the pain and suffering he was going to heap on their heads. Especially the punk... oh, the demon too he was going to peel apart piece-by-piece, but especially, especially the little stupid kid that dared to challenge him, that had dared to actually fight him, that had taken his cheap shot and almost cost him the war... Cancer's eyes glowed with rage with these thoughts, breathing hard as he slowly pushed himself up to his feet. He twisted back and forth as claws sprouted from the half-melted ends of his legs, became bony, deadly hooks as his jaw grew larger, an extra, twisted limb sprouting from one shoulder as his mouth fell open in a hungry gape. Drool dripped from his jaws as he staggered towards the cliff face, breathing harder and heavier, his red eyes glowing all the brighter as he threw his head back and screamed: "Dinner time!" The monster grinned widely as it eagerly dragged itself onto the packed snow and carefully edged around one of the bonfires, rasping hard as cloaked Strange Ones emerged from their homes as calmly and silently as they had for the ponies. They looked at him fearlessly, emotionlessly, and Cancer giggled wildly as his head twitched back and forth before he licked his oversized teeth, eyes blazing as his claws scraped delightedly against the ground. "Yes, yes, yes, comin' out, savin' me the trouble of-" Then the monster stuttered to a halt as his back arched, his eyes widening as he felt something pass through him so fast he didn't even have the time to register pain. The Strange Ones only stood, and Cancer gurgled and twitched before he looked slowly back and forth: on either side of him, Strange Ones in stiff leather armor had landed beside him after leaping from some unseen vantage point, and their dexterous, long-fingered hands both clutched the bodies of spears... spears that were buried all the way through Cancer and now anchored into the ground, forming a perfect X through the creature's body. Cancer screamed and began to jitter wildly, the wooden poles feeling strange and agonizing, his red eyes glowing as one of the Strange Ones said quietly: "We appreciate your arrogance in coming to us. We have dealt with invaders before. We do not fear you." "You'll learn to fear me, honey!" Cancer screamed in rage, before he snapped his forelimbs out to either side as they turned from claws into tentacles, wrapping violently around the Strange One warriors, hooked blades and thorns ripping out along their length to puncture, rip and tear as the monster shouted furiously: "I ain't like anything you ever dealt with before!" Ignoring the spears buried through him, Cancer jerked backwards, yanking both warriors off their feet before slamming them savagely down into the ground in front of him with a loud crunch. The cloaked Strange Ones, meanwhile, simply traded looks and reacted with unfettered calm: some simply turned to walk calmly away, while others strode towards the bonfires, reaching down to pick up burning pieces of wood. The lack of fear, the casualness of it all enraged Cancer as he lashed his tentacles backwards, ripping them free of the broken bodies of the Strange Ones in front of him and splattering himself with their watery blood before he snapped one mess of tentacles forwards as the other limb transformed back into a claw. These snapped into the nearest cloaked Strange One, ripping through rubbery skin like daggers, constricting and seizing limbs and hefting the creature into the air before he snapped it quickly backwards into a group of the slowly-approaching beings, hissing: "You stupid clowns don't get it, do you? I'm here to kill you all!" The Strange Ones were silent as they continued their calm approach, before Cancer leapt backwards with a yelp, making the spears still buried in his body clack together as another warrior landed in front of him, its long spear digging a thin gash along Cancer's shoulder. The monster snarled in fury, but then skittered hurriedly backwards with a wince when the warrior stood and smoothly began to drive forwards: unlike the other Strange Ones, the warriors moved with grace and speed, the destruction entity barely able to keep himself staggering backwards and out of the way of the rapid series of stabs aimed at his body and face. "No fair, I don't got... oh wait!" Cancer snarled, even as several more Strange One warriors sprinted into the field, and then his tail snapped out behind him, becoming longer and whiplike before it lashed up and wrapped rapidly around the body of one of the spears still buried through his body, yanking it free and flinging it hard forwards. The Strange One easily parried the spear with his own, but it gave Cancer the time to rip the other free with his tail before he looked back and forth stupidly as he realized the Strange Ones he had seen moments ago advancing on him... were now all around him. "Holy hell, you guys move-" Then Cancer screamed, arching his back in horror as no less than eight spears tore through his body from all around him, the Strange Ones all leaning on the ends of their weapons to keep the monster anchored in place as one of them bowed his head forwards, saying quietly: "Keep up the pressure. He cannot transform if we keep him pinned." Cancer gargled and rasped, foaming wildly at the jaws, shrieking in agony as his body convulsed and rippled: bones pulsed up out of his flesh here and there, and his semi-solid frame tried to spread up the spears, but even the most reaching tendrils could only go a little way along the body: the pain, and moreover, the unnatural pressure the weapons put him under was just too great. All he could do was gargle and shiver and shriek as several of the cloaked Strange Ones calmly approached with burning timbers, one of them murmuring: "He is too dangerous to let live. He is invader, and unnatural; both things that we strive to purge from the world we guard." "Cleanse him, with fire." said one of the Strange One warriors, and the others nodded in slow agreement as Cancer gargled, howled, screamed... and then suddenly grinned widely just as the Strange One began to bring the torch forwards. "It must be my birthday! Let me blow out the candle!" he cried: the Strange Ones didn't react to him any more than they had reacted to his screams, before Cancer leaned forwards and released both a howl and a blast of reeking mist. The moment the toxic smog made contact with the flame, it erupted into a cloud of septic, greedy fire that splashed over the alien entities. The cloaked Strange One staggered backwards, then seemed to shiver as the flames rapidly consumed its body, reeking steam rising up with the smoke: the two warriors that had been set aflame were burning up rapidly as well, and yet somehow still they only calmly leaned on their spears, showing no more emotion or pain than any of their compatriots did. The other cloaked Strange Ones continued to advance, and the warriors stayed steady as Cancer's eyes widened in horror... and then he snarled as he felt the heat of toxic flame racing greedily along the wooden spears back to its own source, and he snapped: "No one blows up Cancer but Cancer!" The monster arched his back, howling in pain as his body rippled, his form bulging unnaturally as another of the cloaked Strange Ones brought a burning log forwards... and then Cancer exploded in a tremendous double-bang, turning the spears buried through him into shrapnel that pelted the warriors along with the monster's toxic, gooey body. Strange Ones were knocked sprawling in all directions as snow was kicked high into the air, mixing with the smoke and poison into a reeking miasma that hovered ominously above the ground. For a few moments, there was silence: the few cloaked Strange Ones that had stood far enough to survive stood with their burning logs in hand, simply surveying the situation calmly as the poisonous mist slowly began to fade. In a few moments, the results of Cancer's blast were revealed... and the sights were horrifying, made massacre of the mind. The snow was steaming and bubbling here and there, and chunks of Cancer's putrid form were twitching with life that even now refused to be snuffed out. Strange One warriors lay staring at the sky soullessly, no life in their eyes, their bodies steaming violently as they rotted away... and what was left behind was not bone, or flesh, or blood, but as rubbery skin tore and dissolved, water splashed out. Water that looked stagnant and poisoned, in which parasites almost visibly danced and cavorted. For a few moments, the Strange Ones only stood... and then one of the cloaked figures calmly strode forwards as the few remaining creatures saw the still-living goo of Cancer shift unnaturally, beginning to puddle together. But before it could go far, the hand of a corpse lashed out, seizing the cloaked Strange One by the ankle and halting its progress as the corpse looked emptily up... and then suddenly grinned as red light filled the warrior's eyes, even as ashen rot spread over its rubbery shell. "Why are you in such a rush, friend?" "Desecration. Ultimate defilement." whispered the Strange One, and then it shoved the still burning branch down into the warrior's face, but it only gave a sickening squelch, the flames not catching against the corpse's wet and rubbery skin. Cancer only laughed through the body's jaws, squeezing harder, grinning widely as he spread his infection into the cloaked Strange One... And horribly, the Strange One gave a quiet gasp, like that of surprise more than pain... before water burst in all directions through a cloak that collapsed soundlessly to the powder, sending up a quiet puff. The only sign it had ever been worn at all was the wetness... and the scraps of steaming, stretched rubber hide half-hidden beneath the cloth. Cancer cackled, then he grinned viciously through the Strange One's mouth, the emotion so foreign on the face of the calm creatures that it transformed the warrior's corpse into a hideous mockery of its living self even more effectively than the visible rot and distortion of the body did. It jerked back and forth as it stood up, Cancer's living slime drawing its way through the snow to the corpse's feet, where it slithered up the puppeted warrior's legs to sink in through his flesh as the monster rasped: "Yeah, ooh, oh oh oh, now I'm starting to understand you guys real well, real swell... you're starting to make perfect sense to me, one-two-three, oh honey, honey, honey, and then... I..." The corpse swung its arms out, and there was a horrible squelching sound before the body simply burst apart into rubbery ribbons, fetid, infected water spurting in all directions and leaving dark patches over the snow, revealing Cancer standing in all his glory, his mottled body shiny as it rippled strangely, his eyes glowing red, his teeth bared red fangs as the cloaked Strange Ones calmly looked at him. They made no move to either fight or flee, and Cancer's eyes glowed brighter before he grinned slowly, licking his teeth. "Good. I can smell it... yeah, I warned you, honey-honey... I'm the monster in your closet, I'm the snake under your bed, I'm everything you're scared of..." He twitched to the side, gargling, body rippling as he grew in size before he reared back with a fearsome roar, forelegs splitting apart into cruel, spiked tentacles as his eyes glowed red, rasping: "And now I'm gonna make you dead!" The Strange Ones only looked up at him silently, betraying no fear, no sorrow, not even anger; at most, there was only a sense of shame and disappointment before Cancer lunged... Twenty minutes later, Cancer was licking his lips slowly as he strutted through the remains of the Strange One village. Homes had been shattered, and here and there, parts of the mountain had caught aflame or collapsed from the wrath of the destruction entity. The bonfires still burned away, but they were lower, weaker, as if the great fires knew their masters had been extinguished, and snow had begun to fall, mixed with sleet, like nature's tears: it was like the entire world was reacting to the eradication of the village... or at least all the Strange Ones that Cancer had cared to find, anyway. He shivered in delight, then sighed in relief, saying easily as he paced down a narrow path almost hidden in the cliffs: "Oh, my, they're such a strange and wonderful treats, though! All full of delicious, sweet-tasting water... water I can sour in their veins in a snap, and oh, no, they don't like that. They're rubber duckies, they're the ones, they make bloodbaths so much fun!" Cancer laughed loudly, voice echoing along the narrow trench cut into the cliffs before he winced as some snow spilled down from above. He growled up at this in irritation, then shivered a little before he glanced to the side with a frown and sniffed loudly at the air: he'd grown bored of hunting down the last Strange Ones sitting here and there, who seemed to simply be calmly waiting for death, and instead decided to take a look-see around what this place had to offer. The homes had been disappointing, and there had been little in the way of chemicals or poisons... but maybe he'd just been judging these puritan-seeming creatures too fast, maybe they did have some dirty little secret after all... He followed the scent, breathing heavily in and out: something ahead smelled delicious. Reeked of something he couldn't quite identify... but as he made his way slowly down into a cavern, Cancer grinned widely as he found his path suddenly blocked by two Strange One warriors, both armed with spears, both standing in his way. Both ready to die to protect whatever was in this cavern... whatever was so important that they had stayed down here on guard duty to keep an eye on it instead of joining the battlefield above. Cancer grinned widely, his eyes blazing before one of the Strange Ones lunged, and the monster yelped as the spear tore through him... before his grin resurfaced as a foreleg transformed into a bony blade and he slammed this home into the warrior's stomach. At first, the Strange One showed no pain... and then a moment later, it twitched, its mouth parted slightly... and then its body steamed rapidly as it collapsed backwards, rubbery hide bursting apart in a toxic, watery spray. It spilled backwards to the ground, and the second Strange One started forwards... but Cancer didn't give it the chance to attack, belching out a blast of fetid, poisonous gases into the Strange One's face. It stumbled backwards, and for a moment, there was silence as Cancer grinned as the Strange One shifted... then lifelessly collapsed, clinging lichen spreading over its features as it steamed faintly. Cancer hummed to himself as he cheerfully reached up and yanked the spear out of his gelatinous body, tossing it aside before stomping his way over the corpses with a giggle, enjoying the feeling of their strange bodies crunching beneath him. He emerged into a larger cavern after a moment, looking curiously up a long set of stairs to something crystalline and cylindrical, and that delicious, delightful scent was strong here as he strode to the base of the steps, then called cheerfully: "Hello? Hey, hey, hey, what's that I smell? Are you a little bit of Heaven? Or are you a little bit of Hell?" "H-Hello? Is someone out there?" whispered an excited voice, and Cancer grinned wider, his red eyes glowing with delight before he cackled and scurried up the steps, sprinting a little too fast and smacking headlong into the clear crystal prison at the top. The creature inside shrieked in surprise, rearing back in horror, her poison-green eyes widening in shock as she asked in surprise: "Who... no, what are you, monster? Wait... the Skin Walkers... did you kill the Skin Walkers?" "I'm a pony! I really really clearly obviously want to be a pony, yeah? We all wanna be ponies, you me he she them us!" Cancer crowed, and then he grinned brightly, leaning forwards and breathing hard as he mashed his face against the glass... before the chitinous, black-coated creature inside leaned back with a shiver of disgust as Cancer's head slowly spun all the way around, whispering: "You're beautiful... oh, did those nasty weirdos lock you up in there, sweetie? Don't you worry, honey, Cancer took care of all those nasty-wasty rubbernecks for you." "I... you killed them all?" the creature's bug-like wings buzzed at her sides in excitement, her tattered blue mane swaying around her features as she grinned widely, revealing dangerous, toxic fangs. Her slit-like eyes glowed as she stepped towards the edge of her circular cell on limbs filled with gaping holes, and Cancer giggled at the sight of these before he marveled over the green, saddle-like structure that covered her back, and the warped black crown sitting atop her head, behind her jagged, zigzagging horn. "Oh, yes, yes! Now free me, my friend! I've been waiting so long to be free... and I can offer you anything you desire..." The creature's eyes glowed as she leaned forwards with a sultry smile, and Cancer met her gaze... before the bug-like being inside the cage recoiled, gasping in shock, staggering hurriedly away as a tremble ran through her. Cancer only grinned wider, however, his red eyes glowing as he slowly reached up to stroke his hooves along the cage, whispering: "What's wrong, honey? Didn't you like what you saw?" "D-Destruction... raw, horrible, the Void..." The bug-like entity trembled, then it forced a smile, bowing her head respectfully as she whispered: "P-Please don't harm me... I am the Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings, and I know my babies must still be out there, somewhere, hungry and wanting and needing their their queen, needing me, to lead them... and I can. I can and will... we can work together! I require ponies for food, and you require ponies to destroy... I'll farm them, take over their society, and then give you as much as you wish to glut yourself with..." "Oh, honey, I don't work like that." Cancer clucked his tongue, then he grinned widely, bringing a hoof back before it transformed into a bony blade, and he thrusted this savagely forwards, sending it tearing through the crystalline shield. Chrysalis shrieked in shock, hurriedly scrambling to the opposite end of the cage, before Cancer yanked the bony blade back and then laughed loudly. "Oh, sweet pea! Don't look so frightened! If I wanted to hurt you I would have done it by now!" Chrysalis forced herself to straighten, then she winced when Cancer slammed his head into the cracked wall of the prison, shattering it further before he sang softly and sweetly, the Changeling Queen staring in disbelief: .'' ''"Look at your eyes, so pretty and so wise, Look at your face, puttin' angels to disgrace, Look at your body, babe you're a hottie, But sweetheart, it's your soul... that makes you beautiful..." .'' Cancer drew his head back, then swung it forwards again, smashing the prison wall in further, sending cracks rippling through the surface before he swung both hooves up into the crystalline prison on either side of where his head still rested, licking his lips hungrily. As more cracks spread through the wall, Chrysalis stared, but then began to slowly smile as Cancer wooed, voice rhythmic, coy, surprisingly-gentle: ''. "My heart's thuddin' your name, I'll never be the same! I need you in my life, gotta have you as my wife, You're the Queen of my dreams, you make me wanna scream, I need you... it's true, it's true..." .'' Chrysalis straightened a little, looking flattered even as she also still seemed wary, as Cancer leaned back and then slammed both limbs into the wall, sending chunks of crystal flying in all directions as he smashed a hole in the prison. As the dust settled, he slipped inside, his red eyes half-lidded, a smile on his face as he slipped forwards and cajoled: ''. "I know we only just met, but my heart's already set, I gotta have you as mine, if only for a little bit of time, Oh honey you're so sweet, you make me feel complete, And I ain't worthy miss, but may I have just one kiss?" . He leaned towards her, winking, licking his lips slowly before he grinned brightly, sidling slowly up to her... and for a moment, Chrysalis hesitated before she smiled in a sultry, delighted way, saying kindly: "Well... I suppose that one kiss couldn't hurt..." She leaned towards him, and Cancer leaned down, mouths meeting... and then Chrysalis' eyes bulged as agony ripped through her, feeling something rip up into her chest before she gasped and jerked her head back, eyes staring in horror at Cancer. She shivered violently, gargling as dark blood spilled down his mottled limb, the bony blade sticking out of the end of this buried deep into her chest. She stared up at him, and he looked back tenderly, leaning down and kissing affectionately over her face as he said lovingly: "Oh sweetie, don't you fret now, only gonna hurt for a minute! Let's just say I'm making you my wife the good old fashioned way..." Chrysalis shrieked, then dropped her head forwards, gargling, limbs shaking as she shook her head wildly back and forth, snarling in fury as her horn sparked violently... before she felt something horrible, something dark, and something powerful passing into her, her green eyes taking on darker tones and a deeper glow. Her chitinous hide cracked as veins pulsed up beneath her skin, and her voice became guttural before agony turned to pleasure, before fear and horror turned to joy, before her anger and hatred of this horrific thing turned to worship and delight as she slowly looked up at him... and Cancer grinned savagely down at her as he whispered lovingly: "Oh sweetie, only the best for you, my fellow parasite. I hope you don't mind that I raided your pantry to give myself a little somethin'-somethin' extra... but honey, honey, honey, oh... I'm giving something back see?" Chrysalis drooled, then snarled before trying to speak... but what came out instead was a barking, rumbling sound as she felt heat and power and pleasure taking over her mind. As she felt her body mutating, changing, transforming, raising a hoof slowly in front of her face to watch it split apart into a monstrous, gnarled claw, and Cancer grinned in excitement before he laughed in glee, stomping his hooves as he watched the transformation with delight. It took half an hour... and it was only the start. Dark, mottled webbing and Cancer's slime had begun to spread over the walls of this cavern they were going to call 'home' for now... but Cancer giggled delightedly as he stuck his head cheerfully out of the cave, breathing hard. It wouldn't last them very long... his new wife was growing into a big girl now, and they'd need to cut out of this bachelor pad and find themselves a proper home for two newlyweds to settle down in. Especially since they were newlyweds who would be expecting a family sooner rather than later... Cancer glanced up at the snowy sky above, licking his teeth slowly as he whispered: "Griselda and me are gonna be real happy, just you wait and see. She ain't no chrysalis no more, after all... she's turning into the most beautiful, beautiful butterfly you ever did lay your eyes on! Gotta find her a meal, though... gotta keep up her strength... and oh, I'm gonna take my time now, taking care of her, building her up nice and big and strong, 'cause she's gonna help me knock all the blocks down..." He grinned hungrily, licking his teeth slowly as he shivered in delight, feeling his own body strengthening, solidifying, as it processed the Changeling's genes and the powers he'd torn from her body. She was old, and she was strong, and she had the most deliciously metamorphic structure that let him do things to her even good ol' Discord hadn't been able to handle. She wouldn't become any mindless drone like the Jabberwock had been... she was going to be perfect for him, in every single way. She was going to be the most beautiful wife ever... and now, he giggled at the thought of letting those stupid kids get away. Oh, it was well worth it... it was better than worth it. Let the ponies run, let them hide, let them prepare and think what they wanted! Because when everything was said and done, he was going to march right on into their pretty little village. When his wife was good and ready, Griselda and he would be able to storm the gates of the filthy demon garbage heap under the giant buffet-city, and they'd make mincemeat out of everyone there... but oh, first. First he wanted to attack the little dirt-stain town. First he wanted to get his claws into the white weasel, and gobble her down. Then he'd feed the zombie to his pretty wife, and then he'd hunt down and make that stupid punk kid really suffer... oh, yes. Now waiting didn't bother him, waiting just made it all sweeter, because he had Griselda, his butterfly, to help grow big and strong. Now he had someone to entertain him so he wasn't so alone anymore. Then Cancer glanced up with a curse under his breath as he looked up past the cliff top. He was protected on the path to some extent by the narrow cliffs above his head, but the sleet and powder had turned to a heavier blizzard that he didn't dare go too far in, for fear of once more being turned to ice. The monster grumbled under his breath, then he grimaced when he stepped on a Strange One's corpse... before shrugging and easily picking this up, tossing it over his back as he began to whistle loudly, turning to head back towards the cave. He and his wife would keep each other warm over the long winter, that's all there was to it... and he grinned slowly as he licked his lips, whispering: "Ain't nothing better than being in love, ain't that right?" Cancer threw his head back and laughed... and as if in response, the earth trembled with the roar of the hideous monstrosity lurking beneath the ground. A beast aware only of its endless hunger, and of its servitude towards the monster that provided it with power and a corrupted, twisted lie of love; a prisoner of Cancer's perverse games more enslaved now than she had ever been in her crystalline cell. Category:Transcript Category:Story